Congress is all about compromise

I think some folks out there are not too clear on how the founding fathers intended our government to work.  There are three branches and 2 houses within the legislative branch for a reason.  The founders knew that pure democracy and majority rule was a death sentence for the liberties of the minority, so to protect individual freedoms, they planned for multiple counterbalancing forces.  They knew that it would be unlikely for all branches to be controlled by the same party, so that extreme ideological action would be harder to pass and be put into effect.

Within the system today, Democrats have control of the Senate and the White House, and Republicans have control of the House.  In order for Congress to  accomplish anything at all, the two parties HAVE to negotiate and compromise.  Democrats will have to give in on things they want, and Republicans will have to give in on some things they want.  The fact is: the legislation that will come as a result of these rounds of compromise will not be all that Republicans would hope.  Nor will it match the Democratic wish list.  Minority Senate Republicans are particularly important right now in tempering Democratic proposals enough so that they can be supported by their counterparts in the House.  

Sure people want THEIR desires put into practice, but accusing principled legislators of abandoning their principles or selling-out ignores the fact that given the mix of opinions and political ideology we see in America, it would be virtually impossible for strict ideologues to ever get their way all the time.  We sent our representatives to congress to represent our interests and to work together to solve the problems of this country.  We want to see people sharing the same values and priorities we hold to be involved in those negotiations, so that those with the opposite views do not have the final say.  We cannot, however, expect them to achieve 100% of what we would like.  In negotiation, both sides must give up some of what they want so that both sides get most of what they want.  

A Crisis of Awareness

Where is the outrage from the American people over these ridiculous Fiscal Cliff "negotiations"?  Every conservative-leaning person in America should be writing their Senators and Representatives demanding that they cut spending and extend the Bush tax cuts for everyone. Or, we can continue to rack up even more massive debt than we have already. When our public debt has outpaced the growth of the private economy, we have a major problem. We have not been at this level of spending since WWII, and that spending immediately dropped post-war. For us, there is no end in sight, for the next four years at least, and the result is truly frightening.  

President Obama won't meet with Republican congressional members and we're not sure he's even been meeting with his own party members. He has met with Rachel Maddow and Al Sharpton however, so we know he's getting good advice on the economy. It's also interesting to note that in the Obama budget proposal Geitner was sent out to sell, Obama is freely spending the "savings" from bringing the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan and has proposed billions in new "stimulus" spending.  

The fact that people on the street are either unaware of these issues or think the government needs to "do more" http://bit.ly/YAjhtP is a sad commentary on the Republican party's inability to promote free market principles.  Republicans need to get their act together and inform the American people about the coming bankrupting of the country and why the current course is unsustainable.  This crisis is also a test for the current Republican members of congress.  They need to understand that they will be held accountable come 2014 or 2016 election time for the positions they take during the fiscal cliff negotiations their votes on the budget ultimately put forward.

You STILL didn't build that

Obama is still holding steadfast to his demand that tax rates be raised on the "rich" (and again I point out that "rich" in his mind means families earning $250K).  Why?  Republicans have given in and are open to raising the same level of revenue through the closing of loopholes rather than straight up changes in rates.  Because he wants to punish success.  Obama wants to clearly label successful people as evil and not deserving of their wealth - they didn't build that! 

This is a fundamental difference in philosophy from the country our founding fathers envisioned.  It is the same view that enabled the administration to portray Mitt Romney as explicitly morally inferior, and implicitly guilty of some crime or wrongdoing, because he is a successful man. This has been accepted and embraced by the Democratic congress in stark contrast to how John Kerry was received as the party's nominee for President, and his net worth was significantly higher.  Of course John Kerry wasn't guilty of earning his money, he married into it.  Maybe that's a forgivable sin. 

And the liberal guilt for making money must not be assuaged by voluntary charitable works, as the pitiable philanthropic efforts of the Obamas and Bidens can attest, they prefer to take wealth by force.

Are Republicans seeing the light?

You know you're in trouble when Nancy Pelosi says you now "see the light", as she said of Republicans in an interview Thursday.  

Asked if the GOP would buckle, Pelosi said, “I wouldn’t say buckle. See the light might be a better term.”

Yikes!  And to add insult to injury, the Democrats not only expect Republicans to cave on taxes in the Fiscal Cliff negotiations, they are demanding a massive new stimulus package!  The fact that Republicans have not just walked away from the table on this is outrageous.  

Democrats feel emboldened by Obama's win, the increase in Republican Governors and a strong Republican hold on the house, being cleverly ignored.  There has been a lot of discussion on blogs and Twitter about the ramifications in the next election cycle if Republicans don't hold firm on taxes and spending cuts.  If only that were true.  When have Republicans ever really had their feet held to the fire when they have voted against conservative fiscal principles?  We keep electing the same wishy-washy bunch over and over again.  We should be demanding accountability for the decisions they make in the name of "bipartisanship".  

Grover Norquist was on the right track with the tax pledge, but he did not go far enough - we need a similar pledge on spending - and we need to follow up at the fundraising dinners and voting booth to hold responsible those who choose to renege.